


Solace

by chuulain



Series: High School Adventures [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Art Teacher Moblit, Character's Name Spelled as Hanji, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, History Teacher Erwin, Love Confessions, M/M, Science Teacher Hanji, janitor Levi, mobuhan week 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 12:40:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11989989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuulain/pseuds/chuulain
Summary: Moblit thought that starting his new job as an art teacher would be calm and uneventful. He didn't expect to run into someone that was his whole world in another lifetime. She still was his whole world now, he supposed. The difference was that now he had the oppurtunity to tell her, without anything holding him back. Now he just had to muster up the courage. Or just maybe he would be pleasantly surprised by her instead.





	Solace

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for mobuhan week 2017. This work is part of a series. You don't need to read the first part to understand this part. While all parts are connected they can stand on their own as separate works too. Please enjoy :)

Moblit groaned as his alarm started blaring, indicating that he had to leave the warm comfort of his bed to start the day. He rolled over onto his side and reached his hand towards the attack on his ear drums and managed to turn it off with his eyes still closed. He stretched and let out a long yawn, before rubbing the sand from his eyes and sitting up. Waking up always took a bit of effort and today was no exception.

He sluggishly made his way to the bathroom to wash and shave. After being done with that he felt more awake and made his way over to his closet to pick out his clothes for the day. After getting dressed he walked back into the bathroom again to comb his hair and he checked his appearance one more time before making his way towards the kitchen for breakfast.

He wanted to look good on his first day at work. Becoming an art teacher always had been his dream and now it was finally happening. He had to admit that he was a little nervous, but he hoped that would pass as soon as he was actually busy teaching. The school was close by, so he probably could have stayed in bed a little longer, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t forget about anything and didn’t have to hurry.

The smell of fresh eggs put a smile on his face as he baked them to make a nice omelette. He also put some strawberry jam, cheese and chocolate sprinkles on different slices of bread and got some fresh orange juice from the fridge. A hearty breakfast would be a good start of the day. He made some more to take with him and then started eating.

He was halfway through when his phone started ringing. He smiled as he saw who it was and picked up. “Good morning, mom.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. Are you excited to start your job?” His mother asked.

Moblit put his phone on speaker so that he could continue eating easier and smiled. Of course she would call him. His mother and father had always supported him in his dream and were just as happy as he was to land the job. “Yeah, I can’t wait to get started.”

“That’s great! I hope you can make some nice friends there. Your father told me to wish you good luck, as he already had to leave for work. I’ll have to go soon too, so good luck and enjoy your day. We love you.”

That made him smile even wider. “Thank you. I love you both too. Enjoy your day as well.”

He ended the call with that and finished his breakfast. After putting his glass and plate in the sink, he made his way back to the bathroom again to brush his teeth. He looked in the mirror one more time and still found himself smiling. That was good. That surely made him approachable. He didn’t want to be one of those intimidating teachers. He wanted his students to trust him and come to him with all their questions and insecurities. This was partly because he had been very insecure too as a teenager and was glad he could trust his art teacher as well and that made him a whole lot more secure.

He picked up his bag and put his lunchbox inside and then made his way over to the hallway to put on his shoes and coat. It was still warm for the time of the year, so he was glad he could put a light coat on. Maybe if it got really sunny he could take one class outside to paint the scenery. That would surely be appreciated on such a beautiful day. He would have to make a list with all his classes and when to take them outside or else he would be blamed for favouritism.

After locking the door he made his way to his car and got inside. The route to the school was easy to memorise, so he was glad he didn’t need to turn on his navigation. It was still quiet on the roads and he was silently glad for that, cause crowded roads always made him a bit nervous. Accidents were more prone to happen then. He didn’t know why, but it always gave him an uneasy feeling, despite never having been in any sort of accident before.

Maybe it just had to do with his nervous nature. His mother always called him a worrywart, cause he worried way more than the average person. Sometimes he wished he could just turn it off, cause it could be really stressful and tiring too. The only thing that seemed to help keep his nerves and stress at ease was alcohol. Not exactly a healthy solution, but he had a good tolerance and he would only drink at home in the evenings anyway.

After making sure his car was parked safely and properly, he locked it and made his way inside the school. There was still plenty of time to fetch himself a cup of coffee, so he made his way over to the staffroom. He wasn’t the only one with that idea, as several other teachers stood in line to get their early morning caffeine shot. Once he finally had his, he took a seat at the table and took a sip every now and then, while glancing over his schedule and the map of the school.

Despite being shown around once he got hired, it still was a little difficult to find his way around. The school wasn’t insanely big, just regular sized with a nice atmosphere, but still big enough to get lost in, he supposed. So far he had managed to figure out that he had his first hour on the second floor, but finding the actual classroom he was supposed to be at proved to be a little more challenging.

Maybe he should just finish his coffee and make his way upstairs already, so he had plenty of time to find the classroom. He surely wouldn’t blame the students for being a little late. Everything was new for them too after all and it would be unfair to expect them to find their way around so easily already. After taking the last sip of his coffee he got up and threw the empty cup in the trashcan.

He made his way to the ground floor hallway again and just decided to follow the signs that lead to the stairs first. He didn’t think it was this late already as his eyes fell on the big clock above the cafeteria entrance. The clock in the staffroom had probably ran out of battery power then. Just great. That only left him with about ten more minutes before the bell would ring. He took the map from his pocket again, but it slipped from his fingers and dropped to the floor.

“Good going…” He muttered, but noticed the map now showed a backside that he hadn’t bothered looking at before. On the backside there was a chart with signs that suddenly made it a whole lot easier to understand. Every subject had its own colour and a little sign that made it pretty easy to find your way around.

At least he now knew where to go. That was something. He just wished he had thought of looking at the backside of the map sooner, cause that would have saved him a whole lot of stress. That had just taken him another five minutes of his time to get to class. As he walked towards the stairs again a woman ran past him yelling frantically about going to be late. At least he wasn’t the only one then.

He stared after her for a few seconds and saw something fall off the stack papers she was carrying. Without giving it much thought he ran after her and picked up the paper. Maybe it was important and he would definitely appreciate it as well if someone went through the trouble of giving it back.

“Hey! Wait up! You dropped something!” He yelled after her. God, she was fast, especially for so early in the morning. If he hadn’t had his coffee he probably wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Moblit sighed in relief as she finally slowed down. She must have heard him then or noticed herself that she dropped something. He jogged the last few meters and then came to a standstill as she turned around to face him. An unruly mop of chocolate brown hair, tied in a messy ponytail and eyes just as brown, covered by glasses stared at the paper he was holding in his hands.

He wasn’t prepared however for what happened when her eyes met his. Images of monsters, fighting, blood and death flashed through his eyes at such a rapid speed that it made him clutch his head. The intensity of it was huge and it was hard to process so much at once. The things he saw were terrifying and he felt like throwing up until calmer images flashed through his mind’s eye.

The woman he had locked eyes with was a constant presence in the images in his mind. He saw himself constantly telling her to be careful and taking care of her when she forgot to do so herself. Even though it was stressful, it was a welcome change from the monsters he saw first. She somehow made his heart flutter despite the stress and anxiety she gave him. She was insanely reckless and he had to save her from danger more times than he could count.

It was all hard to understand, but slowly everything began to make sense. What he was seeing wasn’t some kind of intense daydream or delusion. No, it was a past life, he was pretty sure of that, and meeting someone from that life triggered his memories of it. It wasn’t just someone though, this woman was his most important person and now she was standing before him, undoubtedly experiencing the same thing as him.

“Hanji…” Was all he managed to get past his lips as the last pieces of memory fell into place. It was the last thing he said back then before he pushed her into that well and was engulfed by the explosion, and now it was the first thing he said to her again. It held the same strong feelings as back then, but now it wasn’t uttered in despair, but in fondness.

Hanji’s mouth was hanging open in disbelief first and then realisation hit her hard. Tears started running down her face and she dropped everything she was holding to take a firm step forward, to wrap her arms around the man standing in front of her and press him to her chest in a tight hold.

He was taken aback for a moment by the emotional outburst before wrapping his arms around her too. She was crying hard onto his shoulder and it made his heart ache. Seeing her cry never sat well with him, so he gently rubbed her back in an effort to calm her down a bit.

“Hanji, it’s okay. Sssssh, don’t cry.” He had never seen her so emotional before and he wondered what it was that got her so upset. It couldn’t just be their reunion, could it? Surely he was feeling overwhelmed too, but he felt more like smiling than crying.

“Y-y-you died f-f-for me…” She managed to choke out.

Oh, so that was what got her so upset. Getting that memory back must have been quite shocking. “It’s alright, I don’t regret it. I was always so scared that something would happen to you and I wouldn’t be able to protect you from it. I’m sorry that it was the last time I could keep you save.”

“Don’t a-apologise, you i-i-idiot…” She held onto him a little tighter, not wanting him to disappear before her eyes again. Having him in her arms, solid and real, was all she ever dreamed of after his death. “I’ve missed you so much!”

That left him speechless for a moment. His death had impacted her a lot and he wished she didn’t have to suffer because of it. He always protected her from danger, but he always felt terrible that he could never protect her from emotional damage and his death had added a lot to that.

“I’m here now, so please don’t cry anymore.” He made her look at him and gave her a gentle smile.

She couldn’t help but to smile back at him. He always had such a gentle smile and it always made her feel better. “Don’t you dare to leave me again. I need you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He said kindly. Just being here with her made him forget everything else. She still held his heart and made his stomach do weird flips. Maybe in this life he could tell her how much he loves her.

That made her smile again and she just wanted to take him somewhere where they could be alone. But they were alone now, so why did she still feel that need? She looked around and realised where they were then. They were at school, in the hallways, that were now deserted and they were horribly late for class.

“Shit!” She exclaimed. Why did they have to be reunited at such an unfortunate moment? “We’re late! We’re so damn late!” She quickly picked up everything that she had dropped.

Moblit didn’t know what she meant by that until he took a look around too. Oh crap. He didn’t want to be fired on his first day, even though being with Hanji was much more desirable now than his dream job. “The staffroom. We’ll meet again at the staffroom for lunch. I promise.”

Hanji nodded at that with slight disappointment. She was a bit scared to let go of him, afraid he would disappear and that this was all a dream. She had so many dreams after his death that he was still with her, that it made her tremble a bit now. She couldn’t help but pinch herself to make sure that she was awake. She pinched herself a little harder than necessary, but she wanted to make sure.

She didn’t find herself in a bed. She was still in the hallways of the school. Everything was real and not a dream. Moblit was real and so was his promise to see her at lunch again. She took a deep breath and dared to let go of him then. “Alright. As soon as that bell rings you better run there.”

He laughed at that and nodded. “I will, I promise.”

They looked at each other for a few more seconds and then ran to their respective classes. Moblit hoped his students hadn’t left yet. When he finally found his classroom he was glad to see that they hadn’t and he apologised profusely for being late. His students didn’t seem to mind that much though, as they were all just happily chatting and catching up from summer break.

Most of the students apparently came from a demolished school and had transferred here. Said school was old and rundown and its facilities were severely outdated as well, so this school was built in its stead. Most teachers had transferred as well, but with this new school being a lot bigger, there was a dire need for new teachers. He was glad for it, cause these circumstances gave him his job.

After explaining what their assignment was, his thoughts wandered back to Hanji. It still felt a bit surreal, but he could still feel where she had grabbed him tightly. He always thought that was it when he pushed her into that well, that it would be the last time he would ever see her. He was glad that wasn’t the case and that they both had gotten a second chance at life, a happier one.

To him it meant that he could finally tell her how he felt about her. He had kept that hidden inside his heart for so long and to be honest he didn’t think he could keep it inside for much longer. But he didn’t just want to blurt it out in front of everyone. He wanted to have some privacy for that, so lunchtime was out of the question. He would have to wait until after school then.

Meanwhile Hanji was still shaken up as well about her encounter with Moblit. After apologising to her students they asked if she was alright. It was obvious to them that she had cried. She figured that lying that she was alright wouldn’t be very believable and she wanted her students to trust her, so she told them that she ran into someone she hadn’t seen in years and that their reunion was quite emotional.

It wasn’t a lie, cause she had no idea how much time had passed after she had died herself. Was this even the same world? She had never heard of titans in this world, so she figured they ended up in a completely different world. She had no idea how that even worked, but she didn’t really care now. As much as she loved stuff like that, all that mattered now was that she got Moblit back.

She still didn’t know how she had managed to go on after she lost him. Realisation had hit her hard that she loved him when he had died for her. When she climbed out of that well she was completely devastated and she had to tell herself to go on, so that his sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain. Every day felt meaningless though, cause what was so good about obtaining possible freedom if she had no one to share it with?

In that terrible moment she also realised that he must have felt the same way about her all along. He usually called her squad leader, but in that moment he forgot all about it and called her by her name. Just now the first thing he had said was her name too when they recognised each other. It made her feel warm inside and she wished he had been less formal back then and called her by her name more often.

It probably was partially because he was such a polite person, but now that she thought about it, it was probably also to hide his feelings for her. She still couldn’t believe that such a gentle and calm guy like him fell for her. They were complete opposites, but somehow fate had decided that they were a good match. They did balance each other out pretty well after all.

She had to find a way to confess her feelings to him. She obviously still felt the same about him, that much was clear when she clung on to him for dear life. But how would she do that? She wasn’t good at this type of stuff, as she only realised her feelings when it was already too late. Was that why he never told her? Because his death would hurt her even more then?

Probably, she supposed. But things were different now, so there was no reason to keep it inside anymore. They could obtain the happiness they always fought for now and the best of it was that they didn’t have to fight for it. They only had to open their mouths and let their hearts speak. It made her nervous though, cause what if his feelings had changed?

She didn’t really believe that, but still after a life full of disappointment and regret it was still hard to believe that things would be different now. She just had to be brave and claim that happiness she always longed for. She had worked hard for it and it was about time she got rewarded. There wasn’t a better reward to her than Moblit’s love, so she fiercely hoped that it would work out between them.

God, she was really smitten. If it wasn’t for her reunion with Moblit, she would have talked to her students about science non-stop and would probably drive them nuts with her passion. She figured she had to actually start teaching now instead of zoning out. Science could be dangerous and she didn’t want any accidents to happen and get fired.

She laughed at that thought a bit, cause that was probably the only thing she never worried about in the Survey Corps. Getting a job and keeping it in this new world was probably the only thing she considered hard in comparison. Even though today would mostly be introductory lessons, filled mostly with theory, she still kept a watchful eye on her students. Kids could be stupid after all.

She noticed the kids got kind of restless though. Learning the elements could be quite dull after all. But she had an idea to make it a little more fun. “How about you make your names with the elements? Or other words? That way it might be easier to memorise.”

After that suggestion the mood in the classroom shifted. The kids actually had fun putting words together like this. She knew they probably hoped that they could do little experiments already, but a vast knowledge was needed for that first and she hoped they would understand that. Though she could certainly understand their impatience.

As a kid she was super excited to have gotten a science kit for her birthday. She didn’t read the instruction manual and her mother hadn’t been happy about all the smoke she had produced with her little experiment. Her excitement had only grown from that and it never stopped to amaze her what science was capable of. So here she was, teaching kids about how wonderful science could be. If she wanted she could have probably worked at a lab, but that just sounded way too lonely in her opinion. She liked people around her and she sure as hell couldn’t stay quiet all day either.

She smiled down at her paper, as she couldn’t help but join in on making words. Molybdenum, boron, lithium, tyberium. MoBLiT. God, she felt like a teenager with a crush. All that was missing was a heart and she couldn’t help but to indulge herself and drew one around it. Time didn’t go fast enough in her opinion. She wanted it to be lunchtime soon and spend more time with Moblit. Some kids apparently shared that thought, as they were secretly eating.

She walked over to them and crossed her arms. “Sorry, but you’re not allowed to eat in the lab. If you have a medical condition that requires you to eat at short intervals then let me know, so you can eat in the hallways for a few minutes.”

Luckily the kids didn’t make a fuss over it and put their food back into their bags, to continue their assignment. She returned to her seat and put the paper she had been spelling Moblit’s name on with the elements in a map and then in her bag. She didn’t need teasing from her students on the first day.

She was glad when it was finally time for lunch, and she quickly put her belongings in her back and raced towards the staffroom. There she could already see Moblit waiting for her, catching his breath from running. He smiled as he saw her approaching, but that smile quickly turned to shock when it was clear to him that she wouldn’t stop running. She launched herself at him and hugged him tight again, knocking the air out of him.

Moblit could barely stay upright, as Hanji collided with him with quite some force. He hugged her back tightly as well though, glad she was happy to see him. “You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Nope. You haven’t either though. Come lets have lunch and talk.” She dragged him into the staffroom and found herself a seat and sat down.

Moblit took the seat next to her and smiled, while taking out his lunchbox and bottle of juice. “Teaching sure makes you hungry.”

“Sure does.” She rummaged in her own bag and let out a pitiful whine. “Noooooo, I left my lunch on the kitchen counter!”

He couldn’t help but to laugh at that. It was so typically Hanji to forget her lunch. At least she thought about actually making it in this life. He always had to make and bring her lunch, cause she was too focussed on research that she forgot to eat. It was a small improvement, but still one nonetheless.

“Don’t worry, I have enough for both of us. What would you like?” He said, as he showed her the contents of his lunchbox.

“Ah, Moblit! You’re the best! Can I have the one with the chocolate sprinkles?”

“Of course, just take it.”

She gratefully took it from his lunchbox and started munching on it happily. She was glad she didn’t forget her drink. She didn’t want to take that from him too. There was tea and coffee available here, but knowing him, he would probably offer his drink as well. That’s what she liked about him though, his kind and generous heart.

“I don’t think it’s wise to talk here about you know what. People might think we’re nuts. We can save that for after school if you want to spend time together then. Instead tell me now about your life now.” Hanji suggested. She hoped he had time after school and wanted to spend that time with her.

He gently smiled at her and swallowed a bite of his bread. “Of course I want to spend time with you after school. I was just about to ask that. My life now is pretty great. I have loving parents, my own apartment and started my dream job. Also being reunited with you makes life even better.”

She couldn’t help but to blush a bit at that. Hearing him say those things about her made her stomach do weird flips again. That was not a good combination with food though, so she tried to calm herself. “That’s great. What exactly is your dream job? Which subject do you teach?”

“I teach art.”

“I should have guessed. You always were so talented. I’m glad you can make a living out of what you love.” She was genuinely happy for him and remembered his drawings from their previous lives. “You know… after you were gone I kept all your drawings. I didn’t have much else to remember you by.”

That made him silent for a while. He had probably only just touched the surface of the impact his death had had on her. “I’m sorry.” He placed his hand on hers. “Let’s safe the sentimental stuff for after school, okay? How is your life going now?”

She nodded at that. If she would cry again now then she would probably have a major headache for the rest of the day. Not that one would be welcomed after school, but she still needed to focus on teaching. “Well as you can see from my lab coat, I’m the science teacher. I have my own apartment too and a very sweet mother.”

“It’s no surprise that you teach science. It really suits you.” An own apartment sounded nice too. He did frown at the lack of a father though. “Maybe this is a sensitive topic, but how about your father?”

“He was severely alcoholic and sometimes he would hit my mother. My mother left him, cause she was done with it and afraid that someday he would start to hit me too. I think I was three years old when she left him, so I don’t remember much.” She explained with a sad tone. She was glad she at least had a sweet mother.

“I’m so sorry! I’ll stop drinking immediately!” He didn’t expect to hear that as the reason why she didn’t have a father in her life. He didn’t want to remind her of it with his drinking either.

“What? No, there’s absolutely no need. I drink plenty too. It’s a long time ago anyway and my mother isn’t bothered by my drinking either. She knows I’m not him. Don’t worry about it.” She assured him, even though her face held an uncomfortable expression.

“Alright, if you say so.” He couldn’t help but wonder if her father was like that too in their previous lives, but now wasn’t a good time to ask probably. She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about it now. He would save that question for another time.

“Lunchtime is almost over, so where should we meet up once the final bell rings?” Hanji asked. “I probably still have some cleaning up to do before I can leave.”

“I can come to you and help you clean up. Maybe I’ll have some cleaning up to do myself as well, so don’t worry if I’m a little late.” Moblit stated.

“That’s okay. I’m not scared anymore that you will disappear.” That didn’t mean that she enjoyed being separated from him again. But at least she knew that he was close by and safe.

He smiled at that and put his lunchbox back into his bag. “I’m not leaving this building without you. Let’s get to class now or we’ll be late again.”

“Yeah, that would be bad. See you soon then.” She said and waved as each of them walked off into the direction of their classrooms.

Moblit was glad to be on time now, as he opened the door to the classroom. He beat his students to it. None of them had arrived yet. He looked outside and saw the sun shining brightly and decided now would be a good time to have that scenery painting lesson outside. He had these students for two hours instead of one, so that would give them plenty of time to paint something nice. One hour was a little short, as they needed to grab their materials and head outside first. He also needed time to explain their assignment.

Once all his students were seated and the attendance list was checked off, he told them to grab a canvas and easel and as much paint as they could carry and then head outside. His students cheered, happy to go outside. “I want you to do your best, it’s an assignment after all. We’re not going sunbathing.”

His students all nodded at that, not minding that at all. Moblit was glad for that. He knew most students considered art one of their favourite subjects, whether they were good at it or not, cause they could let their creativity out instead of having to follow all the rules. With art you could mostly give your own interpretation to things.

He loaded his own arms full off stuff and placed it outside the door to lock up the classroom. Then he picked it up again and lead the way outside towards the grass field at the left side of the building. Once everyone was done setting up their easel and canvas, he started explaining their assignment.

“All right, what we’re going to do today is painting scenery. You can paint anything that you can see from this point. It can be part of the school building, the schoolyard or maybe those trees over there. Since we’re outside lighting plays a role too, so be sure to let that show in your work too. Depth is also important. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.” With that said, he started working on his own painting as well.

He didn’t like to just stand still all the time and didn’t want to constantly check on the students as well. He didn’t like it either when people would constantly watch over his shoulder to see what he was doing. It made him feel uncomfortable and anxious and he was sure his students would feel like that too. Teenagers had a lot of insecurities after all and their performance on school work was definitely one of them.

He decided to paint the trees, cause he was in the mood to use vibrant colours. The tree leaves were starting to change into their autumn colours and it was a beautiful sight. After a while he had the feeling of being watched and looked around to see if any of his students were too shy to come to him to ask him a question. That was not the case however as all of them were pretty engrossed in their work, aside from some light chatter here and there.

He couldn’t shake the feeling off and looked over at the schoolyard where he saw, who he supposed was the janitor, walk back to the entrance. Had he been staring at him? There was something familiar about him, but he couldn’t place it, as he only caught a slight glimpse of him. Maybe he was just imagining things. It was quite a weird day after all.

He got back to work, but still the feeling remained. He looked up towards the windows of the building and saw Hanji smiling down at him from one of the third floor windows. Well that explained a lot. She probably had been looking at him for a while, but was unable to get his attention. He smiled up at her and waved and she happily waved back at him.

It was definitely endearing, but he was also glad when she moved away from the window to continue teaching. She was teaching science after all and he didn’t want any accidents to happen, especially cause he was all the way down here and couldn’t help her if anything would go wrong. He hoped the science classrooms had a sprinkler system installed just in case. He would check that later and if it didn’t have it, he would definitely suggest it to the principal as soon as possible.

Now that his thoughts were on the principal, realisation hit him that he actually knew him from his previous life. The principal was none other than Darius Zackly, Supreme Commander of the military, back then. The man hadn’t triggered his past life and he didn’t seem to know who he was either. Maybe certain requirements were needed to regain your memories of that life.

That made him wonder if others also had gotten reincarnated. He would love to see the rest of the Survey Corps. But would they recognise him? He supposed he recognised Hanji, because they had been very close back then, but he had no idea about the others. He would ask Hanji later. Maybe she had a theory on it.

His painting was coming along nicely and he just needed to add a few more details and shades and then it would be done. It took another ten minutes and he smiled at the result. It wasn’t his best work, but he definitely liked it a lot. He wondered what Hanji would think of it. He only ever made drawings with a pencil or with charcoal back then.

He decided he would check on how the paintings of his students were coming along and if he could give them a few pointers. They were all doing great and he mostly just handed out advice on advanced techniques on shading and lightning. Everyone was done with their work around ten minutes before the end of the lesson. He praised their good work and then told them to hurry back inside now that the hallways were still empty, so their paintings wouldn’t get ruined.

Once everyone had made it back inside, he told them to wash their brushes and then place their paintings inside the storage, so that he could grade them later. Everything was done right in time when the bell sounded and he locked the storage behind him. One more hour left before he could make his way over to Hanji.

The last hour he taught drawing anatomy to first years. Many of them had problems with it, but they made quite some good progress by the end of the lesson. They would get an assignment the next time, now it was just practice. Once everyone had left the room, he packed his belongings into his bag and checked to see if there was any cleaning needed. He didn’t think it was fair to leave everything to the janitor. Luckily everything was pretty clean and he only had to put back some misplaced things.

He locked the door behind him and made his way over to the third floor to meet up with Hanji. She smiled when he entered the classroom and walked over to him to give him another hug. He hugged back happily and then looked up at the ceiling.

Hanji noticed it and followed his gaze. Once she realised what he was looking at, she crossed her arms and started to pout. “I’m not a pyromaniac, you know.”

He couldn’t stop himself from laughing at that. Seeing her pout like that was incredibly endearing though. “Well you have a tendency to get lost in your research, so better safe than sorry. Also you can’t really blame me. You’ve caused quite some troubles in the past with your research and you actually did cause a small fire once.”

“All right, point taken.” She laughed.

“So, do you need any help with cleaning up?”

“No, not really. I thought it was best to just have theory for today to freshen up their memories.” She explained.

Moblit nodded at that and they both fell silent. They were alone now and he had told himself that he would confess his feelings to her as soon as they were alone. That didn’t make it easy though. He had wanted to tell her for so long, but now that he finally had the opportunity, he couldn’t find the right words.

It was Hanji who broke the silence. “Moblit, there’s something I have to tell you.” He remained silent and she took that as a cue to go on. “When you sacrificed yourself for me I told you that I was completely devastated. When I climbed out of that well, everything was destroyed. There was nothing of you left.”

Moblit nodded solemnly at that. He had expected it when he chose to save her, but hearing it confirmed was still a bit shocking.

“I didn’t come out unharmed though. The left half of my face was covered in blood and my left eye was so damaged that it was better to wear an eyepatch over it. I hardly ever looked in the mirror because of that. Not because I thought it made me ugly, but because it was a constant reminder of your sacrifice and it just hurt so much. I suppose a part of me literally died with you.”

Hearing that really made his heart ache. He had hoped she would survive the blast unharmed.

“Shortly after getting out of that well a lot of drama happened. Erwin was dying and Levi and I fought with the kids over the serum, cause Armin was dying too. Eventually Levi decided that he wanted to let Erwin rest. He didn’t want to bring him back into hell again. I didn’t agree with his decision, but respected it regardless, cause it was not my choice to make.”

Moblit looked at her with pity. Not only did she lose him, but also Erwin, who she was close with. How she held herself together after that was beyond him, but he admired her strength regardless.

“Later when we were back at base, Levi made me understand his decision. He did it out of love. He knew it was selfish of him, but he didn’t want Erwin to suffer anymore. He also apologised for forcing me to become Commander, cause I had just lost you and Erwin. He wished it wouldn’t have to be this way, but he didn’t regret his decision.”

He nodded solemnly again. He wasn’t surprised to hear that Levi was in love with Erwin. Over a rare evening of drinking together he had admitted that the two of them were alike. He didn’t understand back then, but now he did. They both loved someone that they would sacrifice everything for and that they did. He had sacrificed his own life and Levi his own happiness.  

“I often dreamt that you were still with me, but when I woke up I had to face the cruel reality again. I often thought that you were right behind me, but I never turned to look back cause I knew I would only disappoint myself.”

He was shocked to learn just how much his death had affected her. She didn’t move on at all. She was constantly reminded of it. “I’m so sorry…”

“I told you, don’t be sorry. I’m the one who should say sorry. You were always there for me and I didn’t show my appreciation enough. Not to mention when you died it finally hit me as to why you were always there for me and more importantly it finally made me realise my own feelings. I love you, Moblit. I love you so much.” Tears were streaming down her face now. She finally said it.

Moblit was silent for a moment, letting her words sink in. Then he gently cupped her face and wiped the tears away. “I love you too. I always have.”

Their eyes met then, forming a silent understanding. Moblit closed his eyes and softly pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t hesitate to press back and slowly moved her lips with his. After a while their kiss grew more passionate and desperate. They had waited so long for this moment. When they parted for air, Moblit also had tears streaming down his face. He had never felt so intensely happy.

“Don’t cry, silly.” Hanji said as she wiped the tears from his face.

“I’m just really happy. I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long.”

“Why don’t we go to your place and celebrate it? My place is a bit messy, but that probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you.” Hanji suggested. She just wanted to be completely alone with him and talk and maybe kiss some more.

He had to laugh at that, imagining how her apartment looked like. Probably just as messy as the lab always looked like. “That sounds like a great idea. Maybe… you want to stay the night?” He slightly blushed at that. He had no intention of doing anything besides kissing yet, but everything that they would be doing from now on would be new territory and that made him a little nervous.

It made Hanji blush a bit too. “I would love to. I better pick up some things first at my home though.”

“How about we both drive to your home and then you leave your car there and drive back with me?” Constantly using two cars was kind of a waste of gas and bad for the environment.

“Good idea. We better go now then.”

They exited the classroom and Hanji locked the door and made her way to the stairs, Moblit close behind. She didn’t pay attention to her steps however and tumbled down the stairs.

“Squad Leader!” Moblit yelled in a panicky voice and quickly made his way down too.

“Ouch, that hurts…” She rubbed her arm and looked into Moblit’s worried face.

“Are y-you alright?” He checked her over and found no signs of injuries, but he wanted to make sure.

“Yeah, probably just a few bruises. Did you just call me Squad Leader?” She asked with an amused grin on her face.

“Oh… yeah, I guess so.” He hadn’t realised it when he said it. It just came natural to him, cause he had to yell that more times than he could count.

She laughed at that as Moblit pulled her to her feet. “I guess old habits die hard. For both of us.”

“Just try to be a bit more careful for once. We’re supposed to grow happy and old together. Not broken and bruised.” She would probably never learn, but he loved her regardless. No one was perfect after all.

“I’ll do my best.”

Once they were downstairs they made their way over to the parking lot. Hanji typed in her address into Moblit’s navigation, gave him a kiss on the cheek that made him blush and then went to her own car. She didn’t live too far from the school, so they arrived at her apartment in no time. After parking their cars, she invited him into her home.

Moblit looked around quietly while she gathered her stuff and decided not to comment on the mess. It would fall on deaf ears anyway. He spotted microscopes and all sorts of experiments. “Are you sure you’re happy being a high school teacher? You’re so smart, you could probably become a famous scientist.”

“What’s that Mobu? Are you already tired of me?” She pouted slightly.

“Of course not.” He made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I would be really sad if you left the school, but I also want you to follow your heart.”

“You’re right that I thought about it, but I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab all day, as weird as that may sound coming from me. I don’t need fame and fortune. After our previous life all I want is love and no more heavy responsibilities. I wanted to share my passion for science with kids, so I did follow my heart. Besides my heart also found its way to you like this.” She explained. She might have never found him if she had started working for a lab.

Moblit smiled at that and pecked her on the lips. “I’m very glad that you became a teacher at the same school as me. That way we can spend even more time together.”

“How about we go to your place now and spend more time together there?” She pulled him towards the door with her bag slung over her shoulder.

Moblit didn’t need to be told twice, as he let her pull him along. She locked the door behind her and then they made their way over to Moblit’s car. After buckling up, it was only a short drive to Moblit’s apartment.

Moblit unlocked the door and let Hanji in. “Make yourself at home. That doesn’t mean you can make a mess though.” He smiled playfully at her and she stuck her tongue out in response.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to ruin your apartment.” She hung up her coat and took off her shoes, before trailing after Moblit into the living room.

Moblit made his way to the kitchen to pull out two glasses from the cupboard. “What would you like to drink?”

“Do you have ice tea?”

“Yes, got it.” He poured them both a glass of ice tea, made his way back into the living room and then handed her one. “Please take a seat.”

“Thank you.” She took a sip, sat down and leaned into him. “You have a nice apartment. Really cosy and well decorated too. It’s no surprise you have paintings hanging all over the place. Any of them your own work?”

He wrapped an arm around her, enjoying her warmth. “The one with the beach and sunset is mine. I’m not so full of myself that I only hang up my own art. I switch around a lot. There’s a lot in my storage room and atelier room too.”

“It’s really beautiful. We did find the ocean and it was definitely an impressive sight back then, but I wished you and Erwin could have been with us to see it too.”

“Then we’re going to see the ocean together in this life.” He could see her face light up at that and smiled. “Now that you mention Erwin again it makes me wonder if he and Levi and all the others got reincarnated too.”

“I was wondering about that too. I really hope so. It doesn’t make sense that we and our families would be the only ones. Oh, and there’s Zackly, but I don’t really care that much about him to be honest.” She didn’t hate the man, but after hearing about his strange hobby, she was kind of put off.

Moblit nodded at that. He wasn’t a big fan of the man either back then, but he seemed nice enough now. Well he couldn’t do his strange hobby in this life without ending up in jail, he supposed. “How about we start searching for them tomorrow? If they exist in this world, we should be able to find them with modern technology and all.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. There’s so much I still want to tell them.” She sighed and took another sip of her drink.

He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it now. If they’re on this world then we will find them. I promise.”

“But what if we find them and they have no memories? Then what will we do?” She couldn’t stop worrying about it. She just cared too much about them.

He hated to see her worry so much, but if he was being honest then he didn’t know what to do either if they didn’t have any memories. “It’s possible, sadly. Zackly didn’t know us either. Our families don’t have memories of that life either. Maybe there’s some kind of special trigger. Or who knows maybe only those who have been in the Survey Corps regain their memories.”

“That might be so, but we still needed a trigger.”

“Our trigger was meeting each other. Or maybe it runs deeper. Maybe you have to meet the person that you were closest with, cause they share a lot of memories with you.” Moblit suggested.

“I think that’s probably it. So if Erwin and Levi haven’t met each other then they probably have no memories. That complicates things.” She sighed loudly and put her empty glass on the table.

“We’ll figure something out. You’re smart.” He put his own glass on the table too and wrapped his other arm around her as well.

“So are you. This is your theory after all. You’ve always been smart and talented and handsome…” She eyed him playfully. She loved teasing him and she loved it even more when he took the bait.

“Really now? Tell me more.” He grinned at her, fully aware of her teasing.

 “Cute, sweet, and you were always incredibly sexy in uniform.” She grinned mischievously at him.

Moblit swallowed. He didn’t see that last one coming. He was blushing madly and he knew there was no way to hide it from her. “Is t-t-that so?”

“Absolutely.” She kissed him then, done with teasing and just wanting to connect to him.

Moblit relaxed and kissed her back. He was glad she stopped teasing, cause he didn’t want to look like a tomato anymore. They kissed for a while longer until Hanji’s stomach started to grumble. “How about I start on making us dinner?”

Hanji looked slightly embarrassed, because of her grumbling stomach. She looked at Moblit, but he didn’t seem to mind that it interrupted their kissing. The look on his face was full of adoration. “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.”

“Do you like noodles with chicken and vegetables?” He inquired.

“I absolutely love it! I love Asian food!” She exclaimed happily. She got up from the couch and dragged Moblit towards the kitchen. “Can I help?”

Moblit thought about that for a moment. He didn’t want her to cut off a finger while cutting up the vegetables in her enthusiasm. But letting her set the table didn’t sit well with him either. That would suggest that she was incapable in the kitchen and he didn’t want her to think that he didn’t trust her. “If you want to, but you don’t have to. The vegetables need washing and cutting.”

“Leave it to me!” She started on that while Moblit cut the chicken into tiny pieces.

Moblit eyed her slightly nervous, while she was cutting up the veggies. Maybe he should have given her a smaller knife. “Could you slow down on the cutting a bit? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“You are such a protective sweetie. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” She finished up cutting, much to Moblit’s relief, and then started setting the table after Moblit explained where to find everything.

He continued with preparing the meal and once it was done he put it on their plates and got them glasses of wine to go along with it. “I hope you like it.” He said as he sat down.

Hanji took a bite and hummed in approval. “This is delicious!”

He smiled at that, happy she enjoyed it. “So you weren’t exaggerating when you said you love Asian food.” He watched in amusement as she wolfed down her plate.

“I just love everything Asian. The culture is really interesting too. Especially Japan. I like anime and manga.” She explained.

“Really? Me too. I like the art style a lot and the stories are interesting to read.” It was definitely nice that they had this in common.

Hanji smiled brightly, full of enthusiasm at his words. “Have you ever been to an anime convention? Do you like cosplay?”

“I’ve been to one once, but I didn’t wear a cosplay. I would like to cosplay sometime, it looks fun and creative.”

“We should totally do a couple cosplay!”

Moblit nodded at that, while chewing on his food. “That sounds really nice. Once there’s a con nearby we should go. But we better first find out who to cosplay and get ourselves our costumes.”

“Ah, I’m so excited! This is so great!”

That made him smile as he finished his meal. It was great seeing her so happy. Even if he wasn’t into those things then he would still watch anime together with her, just to see the smile on her face. He was so hopelessly smitten.

After doing the dishes they ended up back on the couch to cuddle until Hanji’s eyes fell on his game console. They played games for a while, happy they shared another interest. After a while they both felt the need for a snack and Moblit came back with strawberry pocky from the kitchen.

Hanji’s eyes lit up at that. “Pocky game time!”

Moblit opened the packaging and pulled one out and put it between his teeth. Hanji wasted no time in biting on the pocky until she reached Moblit’s lips for a kiss. It tasted sweet. “Hey, I only got one bite out of the pocky. Not fair.”  

“Sorry, I was just eager to kiss you.” She apologised and pulled another one from the box and put it between her teeth.

Moblit slowly took some bites until they met halfway for a kiss. It was a silly game to play, but he enjoyed it a lot. They never had time for such carefree things in their previous lives. They finished about half a box before they decided it was getting late and time for bed.

They changed into pyjamas and started brushing their teeth. Moblit absolutely loved Hanji’s pyjama full of cute science illustrations. It suited her so well. After being done they got into bed together and cuddled up a bit, but still leaving enough space to look at each other, so they could talk a bit more before turning off the light.

“You broke your promise.” Hanji suddenly stated.

Moblit frowned, not knowing what she meant. “What promise?”

“That you wouldn’t leave the building without me. You did when you taught outside though.” She pouted.

She was right about that, he supposed. He did literally say building after all. “I thought you meant just leaving the school in general.”

“I think you need to be punished.” Hanji stated.

Before he could ask what she meant with that, her hands were all over his belly, tickling him. He burst into laughter and tried to roll over to protect himself from her assault. Hanji was not having it and pulled him back and continued her assault. She wouldn’t let him off so easily. “Ah, stop! Hanji!” He whined.

“Tell me you’re sorry.” She grinned at him, having him completely at her mercy.

“I’m sorry! Can you please stop now?” He laughed.

She decided to grant him mercy then, kissing his cheek. “I was just kidding. I’m not really upset that you went outside. I was just looking for an excuse to tickle you.”

Moblit’s mouth fell open then. He had been tricked. “Oh, you little…” It was time for a little payback.

Hanji squealed with laughter as Moblit started tickling her. “Noooooooo, stop it!”

“I don’t think so.” He grinned as he continued tickling her. “You will have to beg for mercy first.”

“Never!” She said stubbornly.

“Then I won’t stop.” He knew she would give in sooner or later, cause she was holding her stomach already.

She didn’t want to give up so easily and let him have his way, so she held on for a few more minutes, hoping that he would give up himself. Sadly he didn’t, so she didn’t have a choice but to give up as her stomach started to hurt from all the laughing. “Okay, fine! Please stop! Pretty please!”

He decided to grant her mercy then and kissed her on the nose. Then silence fell between them for a while until he spoke up again. “Are you happy, Hanji?”

“What kind of silly question is that? Just looking at you makes me happy. I’m so glad we found each other back. Don’t you dare die on me, cause this time I will follow you.” Living so long without him wasn’t something she could do a second time.

“I wish I could promise you fully, but we have no control over what comes on our paths. But I’m not dying if I can help it.” He could at least promise her that.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. Let’s go to sleep now, it’s getting late.” She moved closer to him and placed her head on his chest.

It surprised him a little. “Hanji?”

“I want to listen to your heartbeat. It’s really soothing.” Hearing his heart beat steady made her feel at ease that he wouldn’t slip away from her in this life. She knew all too well that life could be over in a flash after his sacrifice, but something inside told her that it wouldn’t be like that this time.

That made him smile silently. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. It wasn’t long before both of them fell asleep.

The next morning they both groaned as Moblit’s alarm went off. Hanji just snuggled into his chest more instead of attempting to get out of bed. It made Moblit smile, cause he would rather spend the whole day in bed with her than getting up. Sadly they really had to get out of bed or they would be late.

“Come on sleeping beauty or we’ll be late.” He softly nudged her, attempting to get her out of bed.

“Don’t wanna…” A pitiful whine left her throat that made Moblit chuckle.

Getting up was never her strong suit. He always had to wake her up and in the evenings it was impossible to get her to bed. “Me neither, but we have to. Don’t you want to find Erwin and Levi?”

That made her sit up immediately, cause she almost forgot. “Yes, we have to make a plan! Come on, no time to lose!” She jumped out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to get washed and dressed.

A hearty laugh escaped his mouth, cause she hadn’t changed a bit. The right motivation always had her awake within seconds. It worked every time. He picked out his clothes for the day and waited until Hanji was finished in the bathroom. He didn’t think that she would mind if he walked in, but he wanted to take things slowly.

A few minutes later she emerged from the bathroom again and he got in then. When he was done too, they started making breakfast and he made sure Hanji would have plenty to eat at lunch. They quietly ate their breakfast and Hanji scrolled through her email until her eyes went wide in shock.

“Moblit! Look at this!” She handed him her phone.

It took him a little while to understand what had gotten into her. On the screen he saw an email from the school, that didn’t look special to him until his eyes fell on the names that it was sent to. Erwin’s name was part of the list.

“Unbelievable…” He didn’t think that it would be so easy to find him. “Did fate decide to all give us a job at the same place? Is Levi’s name there too? I didn’t see it.”

She shook her head at that. “No, I don’t see his name, but at least we got a lead now. This will make things easier. We should see if we can find him today and carefully start a conversation with him.”

“Yeah, we don’t know if he has any memories. Maybe he did find Levi somewhere else, but if not he probably doesn’t have his memories.” It would be really disappointing if he didn’t have any memories, but they just had to find Levi then and make them meet.

“We’ll just have to hope for the best. Let’s go now, so maybe we can find him before classes start. It would be awkward to talk about it during lunch where everyone can overhear us.” People might think they were crazy and she rather didn’t lose her job.

They quickly finished their breakfast and then went to the school. When they approached the entrance they saw Erwin standing there together with Levi. It didn’t give them any guarantees that they did in fact have their memories. It was just their theory after all and they didn’t have any proof.

They didn’t have a plan either to find out if they had their memories. It was too late for that now, cause they were approached by them. They were silent for a while until it hit them that they were trying to determine if they had their memories, so they didn’t even have to come up with a plan anymore. Once they confirmed it, lots of hugs followed with the promise of hanging out after school.

After school they had all gone to Erwin’s apartment to spend time together. Hanji couldn’t stop giving all of them hugs and after a while it drove Levi crazy, but she didn’t care. She had missed teasing him a lot. Conversation quickly fell back to their previous lives. Leaving that completely behind them was not possible for neither of them. It was an important part of them after all.

Levi eyed Moblit as his curiosity took over. “So, Moblit. I’m glad you finally worked up the courage to tell four eyes that you love her.”

“Well actually it was Hanji who beat me to it. I was about to confess, but then she made an emotional confession first.” He explained.

Levi looked at them in disbelief for a moment. He knew Hanji had realised her feelings after Moblit’s sacrifice, but he didn’t expect her to be the one to confess first. He was proud of her that she did it though, cause he knew how emotional it made her. “Didn’t see that one coming, but I’m happy for you both.”

Hanji looked surprised at that. “Why? I told you that if I ever got a second chance that I would seize it and throw everything out.”

“Cause you were also scared. Scared that things had changed. That if you got another life that you wouldn’t be the same people anymore and didn’t have chemistry anymore.” He explained.

“Well it felt instantly right when I got my memories back. I was pretty nervous though. I had been looking for the right words all day. I didn’t just want to blurt it out without any thought put into it. After everything that wouldn’t feel right.” His sacrifice would always be encased into her eyes and she wanted to make sure she didn’t take it for granted when she confessed.

Moblit hugged her tight and kissed her cheek at hearing that. “To be honest I’m glad she was the one to confess first, cause I was pretty nervous too. I was a bit worried that she saw me as a good friend at best.”

Levi nodded at that and took a sip of his tea, while leaning against Erwin’s chest. “Makes sense. Four eyes was kind of an oblivious idiot back then for those kind of things.”

“Wow, you sure missed insulting me, huh?” Hanji crossed her arms defiantly and started pouting heavily. “Moblit, tell him he’s a jerk.”

Why couldn’t these two grow up? More importantly, why did Hanji involve him in their petty behaviour? “I think you can do that perfectly fine by yourself. Can you two please be nice to each other? Teasing is fine, but don’t take it too far.”

The pout disappeared from her face then and she let out a sigh. “Alright, you’re right. I was wondering something though, Levi. In our past lives why did you stop calling me four eyes?”

“Well it would be pretty rude even for me to call a Commander by that name. You deserved my respect and all. My choice put you in that position after all. Also I thought that it would be painful for you to constantly hear that when you damaged your eye so badly. It would probably remind you constantly of Moblit too and you were already grieving enough. I didn’t want to add even more to that.” He explained.

She softly smiled at that. That was actually pretty considerate. She didn’t expect that for an answer. “Thank you.”

“If it really bothers you if I call you four eyes then you have to tell me and I will stop. I don’t want to hurt your feelings. You deserve to be happy.” He moved over to her and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, even though you drive me nuts.”

A whole lot of squealing noises erupted from her throat at hearing him say that. “I love you too! You’ll always be my favourite shorty!” She launched herself at him then and pulled him into a tight hug. “Love you! Love you! Love you!”

He really should have seen this coming, but there was no escaping Hanji’s hugs even if he did. “For fuck’s sake, Hanji! I can’t breathe! Calm the fuck down!”

She let go of him then and made her way over to Erwin. “Sorry, Levi. Can I hug Erwin or will you get jealous if I do?”

“Hug him all you want. I know he only holds my heart.” His eyes found Erwin’s then and he couldn’t help but smile.

Erwin smiled back at him softly, before Hanji hugged him tight. “You haven’t changed a bit. Levi told me that you made a great Commander and I’m so proud of you. I’m sorry you had to become it under such circumstances though.”

“Don’t you start now too, Erwin. I’ve heard enough apologies now. I love you both and it’s okay now. Life was cruel then.” She felt him hug her a bit tighter and couldn’t be happier. “Not everything was bad though. You could say we were a weird kind of family.”

Moblit had to laugh at that. “Well you certainly gave us that reputation, dear. You’re right though. On the rare nights and parties that we were together and could forget our duties for a moment, it felt like we were an actual happy family.”

She hummed in confirmation at that. “You know, it feels like that just now. Even though we all have at least one parent in this world, I consider you guys my family too. It’s nice to have two big brothers, even though Levi isn’t well… big.”

A low grumble left Levi’s throat at that comment. “You just had to ruin the moment with that. You couldn’t resist.” He supposed she would never quit with the short jokes and he reluctantly admitted to himself that he didn’t mind as much as he made her belief. “You’re right though. I consider you as my sister and Moblit as my brother.”

She pumped her fist in the air happily. “You know that this means babysitting later, right?”

Levi let out a loud groan at that. “Please wait with kids for a while. The world isn’t ready for a mini you yet.”

Moblit had to blush deeply at the mention of kids. Of course he wanted them, but he wanted to take things slowly. Maybe in a couple of years it would be a good time for kids. “Let’s j-j-just go on dates first and all.”

Hanji let out a hearty laugh at that. It was cute to see him so flustered. It was just a joke she made, but she definitely wanted kids someday. She had no doubt that he would make a great father. He had plenty of experience with looking after her after all. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll go on a date this weekend, okay?”

“I would love that.”

That made her eyes sparkle in happiness. She didn’t mind where to go on a date as long as she was with him. It reminded her of going to see the ocean that they had talked earlier about, but she wanted that to be the four of them together instead of a date.

They had dinner then and enjoyed an evening full of fun conversation and plans for the future. Focussing on their jobs and saving up for a bigger house to live in together was on the top of their lists. They hugged tightly when it was time to go home for Moblit and Hanji and they couldn’t wait to see them again tomorrow.

They got back to Moblit’s apartment and cuddled some more on the couch before they decided to go to bed. It had been a great day, but still there was a question lingering in Hanji’s mind. Levi’s words about her being scared to confess because they might not be the same people anymore wouldn’t leave her alone.

Moblit couldn’t help but notice her change in demeanour. “Why are you frowning? Be careful or your face will end up like Levi’s.”

She burst into a fit of laughter at that. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

“Well it got you laughing, didn’t it?”

God, he was so sweet. “You are such a sweetheart. Thank you.”

“Tell me what’s on your mind now. I know something’s troubling you. You can tell me anything.” His fingers gently caressed her face, letting her know that he would listen to whatever was on her mind.

“Ah, there’s no keeping this from you, huh?” She received a shake of the head as an answer. “It’s what Levi said. About that I was scared that we might not be the same people anymore.”

“But we are, so why are you still fretting over that?” Overthinking things was a bad habit of hers, he remembered. It always took him some time to get her mind of thoughts like those.

“Well we got our memories back now, but what if that didn’t happen? We might have just gone our separate ways after you gave me my paper back. Maybe you thought I was some idiot that you needed to stay far away from.” She wished she could turn these thoughts off, but her overcurious mind just seemed to love coming up with every possible scenario to something.

“I don’t think I would ever become someone mean like that. I think even if we didn’t get any memories back then we would still have fallen in love.” How could he not love her? The thought of being with someone else felt foreign to him. Sure he kissed some girls in high school and all, but he always felt like something was missing. They didn’t make him feel what Hanji made him feel.

Hanji looked a bit puzzled at that. “How can you be so sure of that?”

“I believe that no power in this universe is strong enough to keep us apart. We will always find each other, with or without memories. We’re soulmates and we’re connected by the most powerful force in existence. Love.” This was something he felt absolutely sure of. He felt so strongly connected to her, like they were pieces of a puzzle that would only feel complete when they were together, intertwined in body and soul.

She was overcome then with such raw and strong emotion, that she couldn’t stop the tears from running down her face. He had put it into words so beautifully and she realised that he was right. They would fight anything and anyone so they could be together. Nothing could stop their love.

Her arms worked their way around his body, pulling him closer to her, to feel his warmth. Both their hearts were beating fast and in sync. She kissed him then and the world around them faded away. It nearly knocked all air from Moblit’s lungs, not expecting such a strong and needy kiss. His lips were on fire and with every passing second the fire inside his body became an untameable force. He kissed her back eagerly and a low moan escaped his throat.

Their lips moved in perfect harmony as he softly let his fingers stroke the back of her neck. It felt so comforting to Hanji, that she wished that this moment could last forever. When they finally broke apart for air, she smiled at him softly. She had never felt so at ease before.

Moblit cupped her face gently, admiring her beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. “I will love you forever, my dear, sweet Hanji.”

“I will love you forever too, my gentle, selfless Moblit.” They were both sounding cheesy as heck, but she didn’t care. They meant what they said.

They cuddled up then, with Hanji’s head on Moblit’s chest again. The sound of it beating steadily was like a lullaby to her that made her drift off into a peaceful sleep. Their dreams were full of happiness and a beautiful future. They never dared to dream so strongly in their previous lives, because they knew that they wouldn’t come true.

Now they could dream freely and without anything holding them back, cause this world had already granted them their biggest dream; being together and happily in love. It had been impossible back then, but now that this was granted to them, they had full confidence that all their other dreams would come true as well. As long as they had each other, they would be unstoppable.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think and if you see any typos let me know.


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